


Soften

by Julias_Sunshine



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Gen, is this canon verse? your guess is as good as mine, it probably is, it's just the two kids having a good time together okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23940241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julias_Sunshine/pseuds/Julias_Sunshine
Summary: Things were okay now. Some days were good, some days were bad, some days were fantastic, but in general they were okay.
Relationships: Evan Hansen & Zoe Murphy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Soften

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a gift exchange among my friends! This is for Elle, I love you greatly.

Things were okay now. Some days were good, some days were bad, some days were fantastic, but in general they were okay. And that may not sound like much, but it was a great improvement from how things were only six months ago. 

After Evan had let everything spill to his mom - well, almost everything, he still had some secrets - he felt worlds better. The fear that she would hate him, shun him, be disgusted by him, that had weighed him down for so long. But now she knew, and by some miracle or perhaps by just a mother’s love, none of that came true. She still loved Evan and was still there for him, even when he showed how broken he felt. She checked up on him more genuinely, letting him know she was safe to come to when he had a problem. Heidi wasn't perfect and sometimes she got upset with Evan when he didn't take proper care of himself, but she was better at communicating why. It was only because she loved him and it hurt her to see _him_ hurting. She stopped trying to fix him, but she still wanted to make everything better for her son.

Throughout her senior year, Zoe found genuine friends. It was so good to have people that she could let her guard down around. She felt normal - a concept that she had a complicated relationship with. She always hated hearing that word, hated hearing _why can’t you just act normal?_ thrown at her brother, but she had to admit it; feeling normal felt good. She liked going out on Friday nights with her friends. She liked not feeling like she had to hide or be someone else as she walked through the halls. She liked feeling like people actually cared about what she had to say.

Things between Evan and Zoe got worse before they got better. There was a period of anger, hurt, and sadness that still lingered even after they had moved on and started talking again. The time of silence was broken with a sincere apology followed by a few awkward hang outs. But now? Now things were like how they were before all this mess. Only different. Better. Things between the two were _real_ and _genuine_ now. No more lies, no more saying what would make the other feel good instead of what they wanted to say. The two were real friends who found comfort in one another.

Zoe and Evan were sitting on the floor of his bedroom, art supplies spread around them. Heidi had gifted Evan these paints a while ago, but it was only recently he started to use them. Finally, he went out and bought some canvases after some prompting from Zoe and his mother. Zoe said painting was fun when she was a kid, but she hadn’t done it in so long.

So here they were. Evan was trying to paint some frogs and flowers while Zoe worked on a scenery of the night sky with some trees below. Zoe leaned over to glance at Evan’s, laughing softly to herself. “That’s really cute.” She commented.  
He looked up and set his brush down, smiling. “Thank you!” Evan leaned over to look at Zoe’s painting. “Yours looks beautiful.”   
After that the two went back to creating in silence, save for the soft music playing on Evan’s phone. Evan liked how they were now. He no longer felt awkward in silence, like he had to fill the space by saying _anything_ he could. Lately he felt okay sitting and just enjoying Zoe’s presence, not feeling a need to attempt to impress her. It was amazing to simply be _friends_ with Zoe. 

After decided her painting was close enough to done, Zoe looked from her brush to Evan, who was just doodling sock puppet characters with his paintbrush. Trying to hide a smile, Zoe reached over and painted a dark blue stroke on Evan’s arm. 

“Hey!” He gasped, causing Zoe to start laughing. Evan couldn’t help but laugh along with her, giving her arm a green stroke of its own. Zoe retaliated by dipping her brush in white and marking him again. The two dissolved into laughter, painting one another’s arms and legs with whatever extra paint they had out.

“Hold on, hold still.” Zoe said through laughter. She leaned forward and painted a small heart on Evan’s cheek. She held up her phone so he could see what she made, and that only made his smile grow. Evan took her hand and painted a flower on the back of it, poking his tongue out as he did. Zoe watched with immense fondness. 

By the time Heidi came home, the two kids were in the bathroom sharing the sink to try and get the paint off.


End file.
